When watching Jacob Eloridi‘s striking yet stomach-churning miniseries, The Narrow Road To The Deep North, I had to force myself not to look away. But, after talking to the cast, it seems that was the whole point.
The Narrow Road To The Deep North is a new Australian drama based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Richard Flanagan. The series tells the story of a surgeon named Dorrigo Evans (Jacob Elordi). Jumping through defining moments in his life, it explores the times before, during and after Dorrigo became a prisoner of war and tasked with the unwinnable battle of tending to men brutalised by the harsh conditions on the notorious Thai-Burma railway.
Before Dorrigo was sent to war, he engaged in a heartwarming affair with his uncle Keith’s (Simon Baker) vivacious and much younger wife, Amy (Odessa Young). Despite being engaged to his loyal fiancé Ella (Olivia DeJonge), it is his memories of his short time spent with Amy that sustain him amidst the horrors he encounters.
Even in modern day, as a wealthy and established surgeon known for his work advocating for soldiers (played by Ciarán Hinds), Dorrigo is haunted by his memories of his time in the jungle and his time spent with Amy.
The five-part series does not hold back. Although there are many scenes of love, joy, mateship and celebration, they’re shaded by no-holds-barred depictions of the torture felt by the men taken as POW.
“I felt like The Narrow Road To The Deep North was so daring in its nature and its retelling of a very historical time in Australia’s culture,” Olivia DeJonge tells PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“Justin Kurzel (the director) has a way of, instead of wanting to look away, forcing you to continue watching and ot be faced with the sort of brutality of the human experience. I think that is a very important aspect of this show, and a very important aspect of our history.”
Simon Baker, who played Dorrigo’s uncle Keith, believes that it’s natural for us to want to avoid things that make us uncomfortable, especially when it comes to recognising the darker aspects of human nature.
“We live in a time now that is so divisive. People have knee-jerk objections to anything that makes them feel uncomfortable,” he says.
“You’re allowed to object and say ‘I don’t like that or that’s triggering for me’. We have a really low tolerance for how cruel we can be as human beings.”
However, one thing the entire cast agrees on, is that these darker facets of humanity that were brought out during times like WWII are important to recognise, especially in a modern age.
“There’s a connection that happens in that story because I think, essentially, the modern world and the way we consume entertainment and content is depriving us of the connection of humanity that exists within us,” Simon explains.
“There’s this beautiful balance in the storytelling of the cruelties and the hardship, but also how we endure, make light of, and joke about these difficult things. Watching stories like this, you’re feeling something and having to live with that feeling. It’s very easy to just reject something that makes you feel uncomfortable, which is a habitual thing we’ve come to in the world.”
One particularly harrowing scene features Heartbreak High‘s Thomas Weatherall, who plays Dorrigo’s friend Frank in the POW camp, being tortured by Japanese soldiers. While he admits it was a “rough watch”, Thomas says it was a very different situation behind the scenes.
“A large part of what we’re portraying is pretty horrific, and there are moments of levity and light throughout that timeline, but for the most part, it’s pretty grim on camera, but it wasn’t that way on set,” Thomas shares, noting that it was the environment created by director Justin Kurzel and his fellow cast members that allowed him to feel comfortable filming such vulnerable scenes.
“They were some of the hardest scenes I’ve ever filmed, but also the most fun I’ve ever had on the set,” Thomas continues.
“There was a real bond between those boys, and it was very jovial. And we were a bunch of hungry young men rocking up to work each day, a bit manic, just ready to get into it. So it’s quite an overwhelming sort of feeling, but one of positivity most of the time.”
Admittedly, there were moments in The Narrow Road To The Deep North that were hard to watch. But, there were also plenty of moments that truly captured the spectrum of the human experience, from good and bad.
If you ask me, The Narrow Road To The Deep North is a love letter to the endurance of the human spirit and an ode to the largely unspoken stories of those who experienced more than most of us are really capable of understanding today.
You can watch our full interview with Thomas, Olivia and Simon below.
You can watch The Narrow Road To The Deep North on Prime Video from April 18.
The post The Narrow Road To The Deep North Is Confronting — But Here’s Why We Shouldn’t Look Away appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
